Of all the position groups on Baylor football’s roster this spring, there’s one room that returns both the most production and the most familiar faces: the running backs.
For coach Khenon Hall’s unit, the most welcomed offseason addition came not via the transfer portal, but from within the building, as redshirt junior running back Dawson Pendergrass is healthy and back at practice after missing all of last season with a foot injury.
“It’s great to have Dawson back. Just being a veteran, his leadership, his commitment — he just shows the young guys how to do things, how to go about their business and how to be pros off the field,” Hall said of Pendergrass at a recent press conference.
Hall added, “It’s great to have him. He’s an unbelievable young man, as you guys know. He’s gonna be something to reckon with here going forward. I’m very happy with his progress and where he’s at. He’s doing a good job, staying the course, staying on track and working his butt off.”
After an impressive freshman campaign, where Pendergrass totaled 537 all-purpose yards, the Alba native built on that even further in 2024 and had a breakout year, amassing 671 rushing yards, 103 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Pendergrass was expected to be a major contributor to the offense last year, but faced a major blow with a fall camp foot injury, yet he’s ecstatic to be able to return to the field.
“It feels amazing to be able to be back out there with my teammates, with my friends and my brothers,” Pendergrass noted. “And it just feels amazing that we have a training staff — a great training staff — that can get me back to 100% right before spring.”
Although Pendergrass was sidelined last season, he took on a leadership role for the running backs room, especially to some of the younger players, like Caden Knighten, who saw a significant workload as a true freshman.
“Dawson was like my older brother last year,” Knighten said of Pendergrass. “I could rely on him in so many ways. Not just on the field, but off the field, like how to take care of my academics, just take care of my lifestyle and just how to move day in and day out.”
The only thing missing from last year’s backfield is star tailback Bryson Washington, who transferred to Auburn during the offseason. Even without Washington, Hall still believes his group of Pendergrass, Knighten (104 CAR, 469 YDS, TD) and Michael Turner (65 CAR, 320 YDS, TD) is more than capable of putting together a strong season.
“We wish Bryson well in his future endeavors, but I think we’ve got a really, really talented room,” Hall said. “When you look at those three guys, starting with Dawson, he brings a little bit of everything. Where he gets kind of slacked on is that they don’t understand how fast he is, how mobile he is, his ability to make guys miss in open space. Dawson’s an all-around player.”
Hall continued, “Those other two guys are, too, when you talk about Caden and his flash and his big-play ability, and then you’ve got Mike. I think all three of those guys are every-down backs. They can all really get the job done. They are guys that are potential three starters for our offense, and those guys, we’re going to ride through the finish line here.”
Similar to Pendergrass, Washington had a standout season in 2024, breaking numerous Baylor freshman rushing records and earning Freshman All-American honors. Last year, however, didn’t go as planned, as the Franklin native led the Bears in rushing yards (788) and touchdowns (6) but dealt with nagging injuries all throughout the season and had seven games with fewer than 12 snaps and lost four fumbles.
“I still feel like we have a very, very good group,” Pendergrass said of life without Washington. “We have a bunch of guys with a common goal. We have a bunch of young athletes. I wish Bryson the best of luck where he is, but we work with what we have now, and what we have now, I feel like, is great.”
The aforementioned Knighten, who was thrust into such a large role as a true freshman in place of an injured Pendergrass, said he was “humbled” in 2025 as he adjusted from facing high school defenses in Oklahoma to Division I athletes on Power Four programs.
“I’m more mature in so many ways — not just off the field, but on the field as well,” Knighten said. “I’m able to read the defense a lot faster. I’m able to read holes instead of bouncing outside the gaps. I’m able to stick it in and get vertical. That’s what they want in the offense, and Coach Hall showed us that. I’m really relying on that this year — just to get vertical, stick my foot down and go score touchdowns for us.”
One of the other players in the running back room who Hall believes “has a really, really bright future” and could even play a role as early as this fall is four-star true freshman Ryelan Morris. Despite some of the Bears’ top recruits jumping ship before National Signing Day, the Honey Grove High School product stayed locked in.
“He’s electric,” Hall said of Morris. “He’s flashy. He’s got great top-end speed. He’s shifty. He’s strong. He’s tough. He’s smart. He’s everything that we thought he was going to be. He’ll have an opportunity, for sure. But to earn playing time, he’s got to continue to learn the pass pro and the plays.”
Although the running backs have a relative amount of stability and continuity compared to the rest of the roster, they will still have to work hand-in-hand with an almost entirely new unit up front, but so far, Hall has nothing but positive things to say about first-year offensive line coach Austin Woods and his group.
“He’s done an unbelievable job getting guys in here and getting those guys coached up and developed,” Hall said. “I’m doing the same. We have a long way to go, but it’s the fifth practice. Those guys are doing well. I think they mesh well. I think they’re gelling well. Coach Aranda set the tone early that in order for us to get to where we’ve got to go, we’ve got to gel, we’ve got to be on the same page, and we’ve got to have a great relationship.”
The running backs are also adjusting to a new quarterback, Florida transfer DJ Lagway. Knighten believes Lagway’s mobility will add a new dimension to the Bears’ offense, and he also revealed that Sawyer Robertson was actually dealing with a significant injury during the 2025 season.
“Sawyer was an amazing player, and so is DJ,” Knighten said. “They both have so many great attributes in their gameplay, their style. Sawyer had a Lisfranc injury that really was just nagging him, so he wasn’t able to open up and run as much as he wanted to last year. DJ displays that ability. So I feel like, if we have a quarterback who can also pass the ball and run the ball. I feel like it opens up the run game and stabilizes so much more.”
